Dual PanelThe New Jerusalem
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea.
2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.
3I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God’s home is with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God.
4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”
5The one who was sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.”
6The one on the throne said to me, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give free water from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty.
7All those who win the victory will receive all this. And I will be their God, and they will be my children.
8But those who are cowards, those who refuse to believe, those who do terrible things, those who kill, those who sin sexually, those who do evil magic, those who worship idols, and those who tell lies—they will all have a place in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
9One of the seven angels came to me. This was one of the angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. The angel said, “Come with me. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10The angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large and high mountain. The angel showed me the holy city, Jerusalem. The city was coming down out of heaven from God.
11The city was shining with the glory of God. It was shining bright like a very expensive jewel, like a jasper. It was clear as crystal.
12The city had a large, high wall with twelve gates. There were twelve angels at the gates. On each gate was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
13There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14The walls of the city were built on twelve foundation stones. On the stones were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod made of gold. The angel had this rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
16The city was built in a square. Its length was equal to its width. The angel measured the city with the rod. The city was 12,000 stadia long, 12,000 stadia wide, and 12,000 stadia high.
17The angel also measured the wall. It was 144 cubits high. (The angel was using the same measurement that people use.)
18The wall was made of jasper. The city was made of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19The foundation stones of the city walls had every kind of expensive jewels in them. The first foundation stone was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was chalcedony, the fourth was emerald,
20the fifth was onyx, the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was yellow quartz, the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was chrysoprase, the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst.
21The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each gate was made from one pearl. The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass.
22I did not see a temple in the city. The Lord God All-Powerful and the Lamb were the city’s temple.
23The city did not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. The glory of God gave the city light. The Lamb was the city’s lamp.
24The peoples of the world will walk by the light given by the Lamb. The rulers of the earth will bring their glory into the city.
25The city’s gates will never close on any day, because there is no night there.
26The greatness and the honor of the nations will be brought into the city.
27Nothing unclean will ever enter the city. No one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever enter the city. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.